Cooking with Mrs. Dash: Healthy, salt-free Chipotle and Lime Guacamole

Guacamole & Mrs Dash According to a new survey from the folks at Mrs. Dash, 71% of Americans have no idea what the recommended daily amount of salt intake is. (It’s 2,300 milligrams.) Even more scary, the average American consumes nearly double that amount - 7.6 pounds of salt per year!

Despite healthy warnings, 58% of Americans are consuming the same if not more salt than two years ago. When cooking or preparing a meal, 70% of people surveyed usually add salt, and 55% usually add salt without consulting a recipe or add salt to prepared foods at the table. Half add salt to their food even before tasting it!

We’re a salt addicted nation for sure. However, some people have taken heed to the warnings to lower their sodium intake:

68% of Americans say they usually eat low sodium foods when cooking at home.
As many Americans change their diets for health reasons, 61% of those people have cut back on their salt intake.

Still we could do better, especially since 80% of the sodium we consume comes from processed foods. One way to reduce sodium intake is to make more foods from scratch, and to use spices and seasoning blends like Mrs. Dash to kick up the flavor instead of salt.

Going salt-free with Mrs. Dash

Throughout 2011, I’ll be working with Mrs. Dash (via Mom Central) to share ways to cut down your salt use by sharing ways to use their 14 seasoning blends - Original Blend, Garlic & Herb, Table Blend, Extra Spicy, Onion & Herb, Lemon Pepper, Italian Medley, Tomato Basil Garlic, Southwest Chipotle, Fiesta Lime, Caribbean Citrus, Steak Grilling Blend, Chicken Grilling Blend, and Hamburger Grilling Blend.

For the past month, I’ve been using Mrs. Dash instead of salt on everything from eggs to spaghetti sauce to grilled steak and fish. Not only are Mrs. Dash seasoning blends delicious additions to my cooking, but no one in my family has noticed the lack of salt in their food.

Inspired by Mrs. Dash’s Southwest Chipotle and Fiesta Lime seasoning blends, I came up with this healthy recipe for guacamole.

Chipotle and Lime Guacamole

16 1/4-cup servings

Ingredients:

2-3 ripe avocados, halved, seeded and peeled (approximately 2 cups)
1 pint (2 cups) container of mild pico de gallo (salsa fresco)
1 teaspoon of Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning Blend
1/2 teaspoon of Mrs. Dash Fiesta Southwest Chipotle Blend

Directions:

Place the scooped avocado pulp, the pico de gallo, and the Mrs. Dash seasoning blends in a large bowl.
Using a potato masher, mix the ingredients thoroughly.
Serve.

Nutritional information

Calories 38
Calories from Fat 25
Total Fat 2.7g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 196mg
Total Carbohydrates 3.6g
Dietary Fiber 1.7g
Sugars 1.1g
Protein 0.9g

Nutrition Grade A- from CalorieCount

Weight Watchers POINTS = 1

This Mama’s tips

You can adjust the seasonings to personal preference.
For additional spiciness, you may want to try adding Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy.

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Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Mrs. Dash. I received the full set of Mrs. Dash seasoning blends and was compensated for my time.

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